We’re getting some more U.S. economic data and the tone overall is okay. Retail sales dropped 1.5% in September as the Cash for Clunkers program expired (Auto sales plunged 10.4% on the month). But that was actually better than the -2.1% reading that was expected. If you take out autos and gas, sales were actually [...]
From the category archives:
Inflation Statistics
We just got a trifecta of economic reports and they all suggest the economy is recovering (and that the inflation picture is somewhat less benign). To wit:
* Retail sales surged 2.7% in August. That was much stronger than the 1.9% gain that was expected and the biggest rise in three years. But even if you [...]
The import price index came in hot in August, up 2% against expectations for a rise of 1% and a decline of 0.7% in July. The ex-fuels reading, which excludes the impact of oil and gas prices, was up 0.4%. Food and beverage costs were up 1.7%, industrial supply prices were up 6.1%, while both [...]
Fed keeps rates unchanged, doesn’t change debt purchase targets, gives no clarity on “exit strategy”
The Federal Open Market Committee left its interest rate target unchanged at 0% to 0.25%. Also, the Fed left its targets for purchases of Treasury debt, GSE debt, and mortgage backed securities unchanged. The complete statement is as follows:
“Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April suggests that the pace of economic [...]
Lo and behold, it’s another free-fall in the dollar in the wake of the “Geithner Goes To China to Beg for Creditor Mercy” trip. DXY now down 81 bps to 78.34, the low of they day. Gold up $6 and change. Crude oil back to positive after trading down most of the day. And the [...]
Today we saw another dip in the CPI. March CPI pulled back 0.1% as declining energy prices offset the biggest jump in tobacco prices in at least 10 years (due to the large tax hike I mentioned in the March issue of Dividend Superstars).
When you couple this surprise dip in CPI with yesterday’s data on [...]
The Consumer Price Index followed up this morning on yesterday’s Producer Price Index. The message: Deflation is here. Prices dropped 0.4% year-over-year in the month of March. That was the single biggest decline going all the way back to August 1955. The “core” CPI is still up 1.8% on the year, but even that has [...]
Buffett says U.S. Treasury bubble one for the ages
Feb. 28, 2009, NEW YORK (Reuters) — Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sits on $25.54 billion (17.8 billion pounds) of cash, said worried investors are making a costly mistake by buying up U.S. Treasuries that yield almost nothing.
In his widely read annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, the [...]
As I said in my Money & Markets column on Tuesday, deflation might be here, but select items continue to defy gravity.
Health care costs (or “insurance costs” if you prefer!) fit the bill.
And so do postage rates, apparently.
You might have heard the news a few days ago … the U.S. Post Office will be raise the rate of a First-Class Mail Stamp another [...]
This morning, we are seeing gold build on its sizeable gains from last week, and oil is up as well. The reason for the move in oil is simple: The explosive conflict in the Middle East is acting as a catalyst on an oil market that was already deeply oversold. Here is [...]
